Controversy has erupted over compulsory school judo which bans throws and other formerly essential elements of the sport, after schools became concerned about the number of children the sport was killing and maiming.

Shizuoka prefecture middle schools have been ordered to ban “osotogari” and other of judo’s more energetic throws, as well as not to allow students to participate in matches involving any throwing, resulting in some of the nation’s harshest judo restrictions.

Without throws, the only matches permitted will be those in which the students remain sitting, the restrictions having in large part been prompted by a pupil being killed in the prefecture’s schools by an osotogari throw some years ago.

Recent efforts to make martial arts (by which they mean judo, kendo, karate and archery) compulsory in Japanese schools have usually resulted in judo being adopted, with 75% of public schools in Shizuoka opting to foist judo onto their students.

Perhaps not coincidentally, with the most instructors and almost no special equipment required, judo is probably also the cheapest option.

However, many parents and educators are less than pleased about their children being forced to participate in sports which carry a significantly higher risk of death or injury than traditional PE staples – over the last 28 years 114 children have died in school judo accidents.

One academic has calculated the rate of death from judo participation as being 2.376 for every 100,000 pupils, compared to the next most dangerous school sport of basketball with only 0.371 per 100,000 – making judo over 6 times more deadly than the next option.

With schools feeling judo needs to be totally emasculated in the name of safety to stop it killing their charges, judo advocates have in turn criticised their version of judo as not being judo at all, although the authorities claim “it is quite possible to learn the judo’s spirit of respect without allowing any matches at all.”

The pros and cons of compulsory school judo are the subject of much debate online as well:

“That isn’t even judo any more…”

“What’s the point of picking judo if you have to completely change it like this?”

“There’s no need to go that far.”

“Just do kendo instead.”

“Swimming is dangerous too, how about making them do it without water?”

“Make some protective gear for them or something.”

“So it’s just pinning? I’d like to join in with them…”

“Can’t they only teach ukemi and stuff?”

“If you must do martial arts, then kyudo is the safest.”

“How about thumb wrestling?”

“They should try air judo.”

“Japanese boys are just being made weaker and weaker!”

“I think it would be quite popular if they had boys and girls practice newaza together.”

“With aikido girls would also get a basic form of self-defense. But it seems the schools are just desperate to force judo on everyone…”

“They could just teach them a karate kata.”

“If rei [manners] are the most important part of learning judo and you can do it all seated, you might as well teach them the tea ceremony…”

“So many deaths have resulted from judo in schools, they might as well stop it. There’s no need to get hung up on learning the spirit of martial arts through judo.”

“This was bound to happen when they made it compulsory. There are always going to be people it is totally ill-suited for.”

“Why did they force judo through like this in spite of all the problems? Is there some special interest group pushing it behind the scenes?”

“If it’s really about health, just make them run marathons.”

“Tai Chi Chuan.”

“If it’s this much trouble, how about just teaching them shogi instead?”

HAHAHA! The japanese leaders all have vaginas! Banning guns, knives, judo-throws, tattoos in public areas, only censored porn! WTF is wrong with you japan! Stand up and tell you leaders NO! At this rate you’ll end up being a well run china! WTF!

They should just make sure that in Judo, everybody absolutely knows ukemi (the art of receiving throws and what not)
That is the main reason behind the deaths; where the people dying did not receive the throws properly.

Also, most of the deaths occurred during practice, not matches so I am a bit confused.

martial arts is meant for killing. Without proper instruction, of course judo will do what it does best: throw and kill.

I think it’s pointless to even criticize the idiocy of the schools because the problem goes deeper. Making Japanese martial art a compulsory at schools sounds much like forcing Japanese culture down to the kids by some old patriotic Japanese.

Too much love for your country but only able to justify the love through superficial historical means is not gonna spread culture, but only stop your country moving forward.

Japan really needs to have an earlier retiring age for ALL jobs to start letting their newer generation change how things are run in Japan, so incidents like these won’t happen.

And also stop believing in old wisdom, because older doesn’t always make you wiser. More often, it makes you more selfish as you approach the end of your life and realize not much has been accomplished. Then you’ll just end up forcing your wishes upon others, which probably how this compulsory martial arts at school program started.

OMG as some one who actually does judo and other martial arts im always sadened when ever i hear about people making it “safer” its safe enough so long as you are learning what the hell your doing! and to hear about this kind of bastardization of the sport AND in the country or origin none the less is soo deeply sadening. if they want a less deadly sport then impliment Olympic Tae Kwon Doe (foot tag as i call it). No maiming other then pulled muscles of maybe breaking something if you fail and fall. SO MUCH RAGE AT YOU JAPAN!! LEAVE JUDO ALONE!!!

Almost everyone who posted here is stupid and doesn’t know crap about judo. Judo isn’t just about throws it has tons of chokes and arm-locking techniques which can be practiced sitting down. Yes, it is stupid for them to get rid of throws considering the LOW “2.376 for every 100,000” rate and I’m pretty sure such a fat nation as ours shouldn’t be judging other nations for having compulsory PE of any kind.

In the end this whole blog sucks because it exists for random ass porn ads and tasteless fans of anime.

Look, martial arts are first and foremost a way to defend ones self. They are used to stop the aggressor from causing bodily harm to you. Sure, I could see people getting hurt badly and some being killed. If they want to make martial arts mandatory, they should allow students to have a choice in what martial art they want to partake. Where I am from, our compulsory education curriculum doesn’t offer martial arts. We, instead, are allowed to take activities like archery, tennis, track, etc. I believe Kendo and Kyudo would be safer mainly because of equipment involved. Schools in my area also suffer from having to quit carrying programs because they can’t afford to have the equipment for it. However, that doesn’t mean you should force students to participate in activities that have the potential to cause bodily harm or death.

Thats stupid! No kids are FORCED to do Judo or any other sport for that matter. It’s up to the parents! Not allowing kids to train and fight is cruel! Forcing would be martial artist to take up fag sports like basketball and baseball to burn energy is worse!

“over the last 28 years 114 children have died in school judo accidents.”

One academic has calculated the rate of death from judo participation as being 2.376 for every 100,000 pupils, compared to the —–> next most dangerous school sport of basketball <—— with only 0.371 per 100,000 – making judo over 6 times more deadly than the next option.

*insert troll face here*

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Listen i dunno where these stats come from BUT Back in the day Judo lesson 1 was about how to fall and roll so you dont hurt your self … and OMG killing and maiming ??? what are kids training to go up against ?? wolverine and sabertooth ?

This is JUDO People .. The Art of Throwing your opponent and pinning them to the ground with your body.. no weapons just the body and momentum i people get "maimed or killed" its not the sport that is doing it wrong but the person who teaches it… *shakes head* Maimed indeed, as if judo has a ka me ha me ha move.. stupid kids and there dragon ball z

Teaching self-defense in school is great, but it shouldn’t be enforced; not everyone is suited for it, both physically and mentally. And if they insist on teaching self-defense, why go with one of the most restricted forms that is more a sport nowadays? I’m most likely going to get a lot of flak for this, but seriously; Judo has so many restrictions it has become really reliant on strength and size, going against the philosophy of jujutsu.

If they must teach Judo though; have them stick to ukemi: One of the reasons I can think of someone dying from an osoto gari is because their head hits the mat because they didn’t pull it to their chest, or because of the impact to the back, which can be minimized with breathing out before you hit the mat, which is also important.

Personally though, I’d rather see them learn non-contact karate, juujutsu, taijiquan, or baguazhang… Although with the latter two being Chinese it might hurt their national pride somewhat 😛

Maybe it wasn’t a great idea to make it mandatory if it was so dangerous, especially with parents being so safety conscious nowadays. We can criticize them all we want, but the fact is if your kid was killed because of a judo throw you’d be just as pissed.

Still, if they’re going to take the throws out of judo, they might as well switch it to something else entirely. Why not Karate if it’s apparently safer?

I kind of think it’s silly to bring any martial art/fighting sport into a schools physical education regimine. I think it would have been better to leave stuff like that for the extra-curricular clubs.

I know my opinion on this will be fiercely unpopular, but martial arts shouldn’t be an option for kids in general. Kids in general hasn’t developed the right amount of muscle and bone density and other factors that would probably favor a young adult or adult practitioners. If they want to learn Karate/Judo at a young age, then do it with extra care from proper dojo system outside the schools.

There are much better, safer sports to dabble into than just lumping all combat sports into the curriculum for kids. And I can see why deaths can happen. Those throws are not child’s play, especially considering people can be dropped on their head quite often. Any sport that can result in someone dropping on their head or impacting their spine is deemed very dangerous and requiring extra care to practice. It shouldn’t be any different for school systems.

My thoughts exactly, why make these martial arts mandatory? What happened to school clubs, that way the children can make a choice on whether they feel adequate for such sports. People don’t seem to realize that not everyone is fit for certain sports, especially children (wtf children freaking dying in Judo)

There are plenty of sports that are far safer and can teach the same disciplines to the children.

why dont they just limit the throws that are really dangerous and keep it basic and just re-enforce stuff with protective gear, but judo is essentially your own weight being thrown around it does hurt a bit even with protection. When I did judo the teacher was really rough to all of us some parents complained and I think it eventually stopped or my mum pulled me out cant remember fully.

But I just dont see how they cant still do basic stuff but where more protection-even if the protection my throw off the ability to do the throws.

“…over the last 28 years 114 children have died in school judo accidents.”

And how many students have died falling down school stairs over those 28 years?

How many have died in class-room lab accidents?

In fact, what are the statics for deaths at school?

This is what happens when people can’t be bothered to have even the most basic understanding of statistics i.e. the question asked is as important as the answer; forget that, and it will mislead you every time.

I think the point is that had those children all been playing football or baseball instead of judo, most of them would still be alive. The other statistics clearly show judo to be relatively more dangerous than other sports by a fair margin, and this is pretty self evident – throws, locks and other “fighting” moves are clearly going to be more dangerous to at times unruly children than running up and down a field, no matter how good an instructor you have.

Unfortunately, most PE juudou lessons are provided by regular PE instructors, not by qualified professionals. Until that changes there is a small chance of getting killed, and even a small chance means having to each year tell some parents that their kid has died during a school activity.
And even with a professional sufficient safety may not be attainable. My personal bad experiences were more with school basketball, but the situation could be similar, so here goes. Even though my coach was pretty good, there’s no changing that despite the rules basketball is a contact sport and some people are stronger than others (especially in puperty) or simply more into what is essentially a rather boring game. I’ve had a few close calls, but even during normal lessons some of us would usually end up covered in bruises, at least the first few years when puberty didn’t quite hit us yet. Some sports are inherently risky and may still be a problem even when not actually deadly and juudou may be in that category.
I don’t think simplifying the sport is a good solution though, as it makes it boring and removes many of the physical benefits of the sport. I’d have opted for switching it out with a more benign sport that offers a similar workout.

My eyes hurt from re-reading the whole thing, but I cant, for the love of me, find a reason to ignore the “forced to participate in sports” part. Since fucking when such activities (e.g. martial arts in any form) are “compulsory”?

Bear in mind those statistics do not take into account how many children were actually practising the sport. It was not previously compulsory, so most probably ended up playing baseball. Many more are sure to be taking up judo now.

Judo without throwing, Kendo without shinai, karate without chop and kick, jiujitsu without arm lock, wrestling without graple, taekwondo without kicking, wushu without any movement, iaido without katana, kyudo without bow, etc.

Later, give some agreement to bring guns to school because martial arts has been reduced into some dancing club.

As somebody who did 2 years of full contact kyokushin kai in a third world country I find stuff like this laughable. If anything those 2 years made a man out of me. I box now btw – another sport that people call “barbaric”

Thing is, in martial arts, it’s always the *newbie* who is most dangerous to self and others — they don’t know *well enough* how to take a fall, how to moderate a blow, or how to control a throw (you don’t want to make your opponent land on their head or neck).

I do wonder how the deaths/per 1000 compare to American football, skateboarding, downhill skiing, or roller-blades.

Note the word “COMPULSORY” i.e., the students don’t have a choice to opt out of judo class. Students should never be forced to participate in activities where they feel physically unsafe. Even in the U.S., forcing students to participate in games like dodgeball is increasingly taboo. Virtually no physical education program still forces children to participate in dangerous gymnastics… let alone a class where students are thrown.

Isn’t Kenpo supposed to be the Japanese version of Tai Chi Chuan. They could practice that and avoid the irony a little.

Maybe they should start running their Judo matches the way Pro-Wrestler’s run theirs: All executed throws in the matches choreographed beforehand to reduce the occurrence of injuries or fatalities during their exhibition matches between schools.

About the only way in which I can see Judo actually killing someone, and I’m talking as someone who used to practice it myself, is if one of the participants landed awkwardly after being thrown and broke their neck.

And no amount of padding or protective gear is going to help against that.

That’s just one of the risks of the sport, no different from a swimmer possibly suffering from a cramp and drowning during a swimming match/training.

(And if kids died due to more advanced techniques like misapplied chokes or arm break techniques, then it’s a case of negligence by the teacher, who should be watching them like a hawk during the practice match to see that things don’t get out of hand in the first place. But again, that’s akin to swimming and the Coach being too busy browsing Pr0n on his/her mobile phone as opposed to watching his/her students in the pool and not seeing them cramp up and drowning.)

Heck, I suspect more kids die due to traffic accidents in Japan than they do from Judo, so let’s ban cars and trucks too.

Judo have change so much since original Judo started. I’ve done Judo for few yrs & first damn thing you learn is ukemi (Learn how to fall correct). Those morons that got injured from Judo’s throw is cuz they don’t know how to ukemi. My sensei always said “Did you get hurt? It’s your damn fault, learn how to ukemi”

Were you forced to take it in school? Probably not. You chose to take the classes, or your parents took you, but either way they weren’t forced on you.

We’re not talking about a military academy, where some form of martial art training is expected either. Some kids don’t have the right mindset, or the ability or physique for the fighting arts. That means they make mistakes and in this case, it can be lethal.

By all means, the martial arts can lead to good health, discipline and integrity, but not everyone’s cut out for it. It should be supported and encouraged, but not mandatory.

Just because firearms are 20 times more efficient at killing somebody, practicing martial arts to boost your self-confidence or learning self-defense doesn’t make you a martial artist. In my opinion anybody who trains martial arts nowadays and calls himself a martial artist is only fooling himself. True martial art exists for killing your opponent, it has no other purpose. If killing is not your intent then you are merely a sportsman, practitioner or an entertainer.

The purpose of martial arts is learning to defend oneself, or to defeat opponents. The manners side can be taught through tea ceremony like one of the commentators said, and they can go back to regular P.E. for physical exercise and discipline.

There are pulldowns, armlocks, and groundfighting that basically aren’t “throws” in the sense of someone flying through the air. The major risk with judo is a bone, joint, etc. landing the wrong way because the person who is being thrown hasn’t trained to break falls properly or just has a fair bit of bad luck.

The level of concern here is pretty ridiculous. In 28 years as many kids have died in judo accidents as Americans die from road accidents in, like, a *day*.

Watch, they’ll ban going to school by train next because there’s a chance of derailing…